Come On!

Prince Charles's Latest Online Announcement: Let Me Get Started

Prince Charles seems to be making a habit out of sneaking surprisingly candid announcements out on his new website.

Is it just a ploy to drive traffic?

Having previously revealed on his website that Camilla would never be Queen, in the latest video uploaded to the site he has hinted that he feared his legacy as king would be cut short.

During a visit to Dumfries House, the stately home in East Ayrshire which the Prince helped save for the nation, Charles says in a piece to camera: “Impatient? Me? What a thing to suggest! Yes of course I am.” He added: “I’ll run out of time soon. I shall have snuffed it if I’m not careful.”

As the Telegraph says: The comments, which were recorded for a film on the Clarence House website about the Prince’s involvement with Dumfries House, will fuel ongoing speculation that Prince Charles, 64, is more eager than ever to take the throne after 60 years of waiting.

In 2008, he became the longest-waiting heir to the throne in British history, overtaking his great-great grandfather, Edward VII.

While royal aides insist that he is fulfilled by his current role as heir apparent, supporting the Queen and being actively involved with the Prince’s Trust and his numerous other charities, many royal commentators have suggested that he feels frustrated his reign has not yet begun.

With a history of longevity in his family - the Queen is 86 and in good health while Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother lived to the age of 101 - Prince Charles may yet have a while to wait until he succeeds his mother.
The Prince has previously hinted at his impatience with the long wait for succession. In 1992, on the eve of the Queen’s 40th anniversary on the throne, he attended the funeral of his father-in-law, the 8th Earl Spencer, where he is believed to have remarked to Charles Spencer, his then brother-in-law: “You are fortunate enough to have succeeded to the title when still young.”